Zutara: To Love and Have Loved
by Avatarone3
Summary: Takes place during Sozin's Comet, where Zuko is struck down like we know, but what happens when Katara can't heal him? and she watches him die? Both admit to the other their true feelings. T for blood, agony, and death.


Hey all! I've been writing more! And funny story on this one, it came to me in class, and it was so good in my mind, that I nearly started crying!!! So this is for all you Zutarians, as I ship both Kataang and Zutara, and so... enjoy! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!

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The young man lying face down on the singed ground groaned heavily in anguish as the waterbender ran to his lifeless from with all the force that pushed her heart forward. Immediately she slid to his side, her heavy breathing unmatched by his as he struggled for air. The weakness of his heartbeat underneath her fingertips was enough to tell the story as she gently flipped him over onto his back, her hand on his heart, and she began to try and heal the fatal wound he had received for her.

She felt for his heartbeat, one hand on his chest, the other with two fingers to his neck, finding almost no pulse, and fear washed over her, as he was silent, didn't move, and barely breathed.

"Zuko…oh spirits, please…" she breathed, her eyes searching him over, but just as quickly closed them, completely at a loss at what she could do for him.

"K-Katara?" he whispered, and she gasped, looking at him, his eyes fixed on her; spirits, he looked like a wreck, with his clothes burned, his skin ghostly pale, and a gaping hole in his abdomen which had started to bleed out onto the blackened ground. He was shaking uncontrollably and would not stop whispering her name, as if that kept him going, and as she looked into his half-closed eyes, shock overcame her. His handsome gold eyes were slowly dimming, becoming glazed, the spark in them gone. Her own deep blue eyes filled with tears and slowly slipped down her cheeks, making clean streaks through the layer of dust, smoke, dirt, and sweat on her face.

Softly she touched his forehead, moving her light touch down to his cheek, and he shivered under her hand. His skin was damp and cold to the touch, but somehow he kept himself going by saying, whispering, mouthing her name, over and over, as his breathing became labored and raspy.

"Shh…you're going to be okay," she soothed, as he winced and clenched his teeth beneath her.

"No," he whispered, struggling to stay awake. His expression showed complete and utter despair, agony, and pain for what his sister had put him through. He arched his back as the pain came still, like the lightning that bore through him, gasping for air to survive. He whispered her name through clenched teeth, his voice nearly unrecognizable as he suffered his torture.

The young woman immediately bent out her water, covered her hands in it, and lightly placing it over the wound, began her healing as the water turned glowing blue and shone with light. With all the power she possessed within, she unleashed it through her hands to his body, and after a few seconds, the water's glow ceased, but it revealed the prince still fatally wounded, his face arched in pain.

Katara's breathing sped up, her heart breaking, her mind in shock of what didn't happen.

"N-n-no!!! NO!!! I can save you!!!" she cried out, her grief pouring down her face as she bent over him.

"Katara…"

"If I can't, someone else will! Someone else CAN!!! I will find them! I--I can get you on Appa! We'll go away! Far away! No matter how far, where I can get you help, to save you!"

"I can't move," he rasped, shutting his eyes from the pain. "Every move I make, my heart stops. I'll die before we reach Ap--"

The young woman stared in horror as the prince choked on his words and began coughing blood. It ran down his face and chin, and he grimaced, but as the coughing ceased, Katara didn't care about the blood. She cared for him, and only him, at that instant. Her tears continued to fall swiftly as she wiped away the blood from his face.

"No," she whispered. "You can't die! I need to heal you, save you! Why did you do that for me, Zuko? Why?! You're dying because of me! And you're the one that's always fighting, always winning, always surviving! You can't give up on me!"

"I'm not giving up Katara. I'm just accepting that my time has come."

He took a raspy breath in and winced as Katara's tears flowed even harder. With her hand on his chest, she could feel his breathing get slower and his heart rate drop with each passing second. She bowed her head.

"No…"

With the strength he had left, Zuko lifted a shaky hand from his side and reached for Katara's. Softly and slowly, she brought it up to her cheek, pressing it against her, trying to warm him. His hands had never been cold. He was a fire bender, always having the power to possess heat and radiate it within him. And now, as his life was slowly leaving him, his inner fire had died; it was never to return. And the coldness of his hand against her warm skin scared her.

_He was going to die, and there was nothing she could do._

With his hand on her cheek, he gently stroked her face with his thumb, and she closed her eyes tightly as his hand traced her skin. She reached up with her other hand, holding his hand in both of hers against her face, gently rubbing his cold skin up and down, trying to warm him as much as she could.

He winced and nearly threw his head back in pain again, groaning, but Katara shifted closer to him, never letting go. Her tears never stopped pouring down her face, crying for the friend she could not help, him dying in her arms.

He struggled to breathe, every breath letting him choke on his own blood stuck in his throat, but he took a deep shaky breath, trying to force the pain from his mind and force himself to stay alive. He stroked her cheek as he moaned, but looked up with half-closed, pain-filled eyes.

"Listen to me," he gasped, "I have one thing to ask of you." He winced and held his breath. The pain was getting worse.

She leaned into him closer, taking his cold hand off her cheek and intertwining her fingers in his. She squeezed gently.

"I'll do anything for you," she whispered."

"Please find my mother. Tell her I love her, kay?"

Katara nodded gently as she gripped his freezing hand tighter, her tears falling onto his burned tunic. "I will."

He moaned, and for a bit, gasped for air, but he pushed it away as he tried to regain the breath he was slowly losing inside. "And I would have gladly done it again."

Katara looked up as he smiled gently through his suffering. For some reason, her heart had always melted at his smile, and this time was no different. She took a shaky breath.

"Done what?"

"Save you."

Her eyes widened at his words. He was truly a good man, and there must have been something more, she thought, for him to do that for her. But her tears returned as he turned his face away from her and moaned once more, the pain within him deepening with each pulse of his weakening heart.

Katara gently stroked his cheek, running her fingers softly over his scar, tracing it. It relaxed him a bit and his features gave in, if only for a moment. But it returned.

His breathing sped up again, now stop and go, and he gasped hoarsely, but as the pain subsided for a slow minute, he turned his head and his darkening gaze back to here. He opened his mouth to speak, but she placed her finger on his dry, cracked, and blood caked lips.

"Just rest. But Zuko, I thank you so much for saving my life, for everything you've done for us…for me…"

"I'm sorry for everything I put you through." He coughed up a dribble of blood.

"Shh…shh." she reached with her free hand not clasped within his and put her hand on his heart. "You need to save your strength. And you don't need to be sorry."

"But I am," he croaked. "I am so, _so_ sorry Katara." A tear from his good eye rolled down his cheek, and she softly wiped it away as he struggled to breath once more. He shut his eyes as he twisted his head back and forth, trying to rid himself of the worsening pain. He started to wheeze and gasp.

"It's alright," she whispered. "I forgive you. I already did."

"And I love you…"

She looked down. "Well-" And it clicked. Her head shot up to stare into his closing eyes, and her heart sped up. "_What?_" she whispered in confusion.

Zuko closed his eyes in pain, breathing quickly through clenched teeth. But he squeezed her hand tighter.

"I--I fell in love with you, K--Katara, since I first met you. You caught me and--ugh--held me in a trance. Your power, your strength, your beauty. You n--never left my mind…"

He tried to laugh silently, but it ended with him coughing. Blood dribbled from his mouth and pounded from his abdomen, which she softly tried to wipe away. He sighed, but smiled. "It s--sounds cheesy, I know…" His smile was addictive.

She smiled back. "No, it's not. But you know what?" her tears started to fall again swiftly, but she leaned closer and over his face, where he opened his mouth as if to speak but arched his neck up to be as close as possible as he could to her, his mouth inches from hers.

"What?" he barely whispered, smiling.

"I fell in love with you too…" she said, as her voice cracked in agony. She broke down over his limp form, bringing his hand in her grasp to her chest, to her beating heart, where one so strong beat beneath the pulse of one so weakened.

She looked up and smiled near his cold face, her breath tickling and warming it. She placed his hand on her heart back down, and she stroked his cheek, over his forehead, and softly moved to trace his scar. She smiled as he closed his eyes and rested for a moment under her touch, and he leaned his scarred side into her hand, kissing it softly. But her heart dropped as his face got colder in an instant, his lips ceased to kiss her hand, and he was becoming paler and fainter, the hand clasped in hers loosened.

"I love you Zuko. I do. Please don't go…"

His eyes opened part way, his staring into hers only separated by inches. He closed his mouth and smiled faintly. "You…need to let me go…" he barely whispered.

The young woman bowed her head over his, his breathing now so shallow that she couldn't even feel his breath on her face.

But she then did as she felt his entire form tense up from a wave of pain washing over. He moaned louder. She backed up a bit and stared as his face twisted in pain. It was getting worse every time.

But she held on. She squeezed his hand, only to receive a tighter grasp from him. His breathing once more became rushed and gasping, and he groaned again.

But his character changed. He held onto her hand for dear life as if that was the only connection to life he had left, but his way of emotion changed. Gone was the strong fire bender who never gave in. "Katara," he moaned, pressing his head farther back, deeper into the earth as the pain took him. His voice was weak, beaten, full of fear. Tears came to his eyes and he tensed up, his breathing faster and labored. His grip tightened in her hand.

"Don't leave me," he whispered through clenched teeth. "Don't leave me." In the way he begged, he sounded like a tiny child. He didn't sound like the man she knew. Alone or not, he now was actually scared to die.

She gripped her intertwined fingers into his tighter, and she lifted their hands to her own shaking lips, kissing his hand while she stared at him, his tears sliding down his face.

"I won't. I won't ever leave you."

Her view on Zuko, the courtyard, the sky, changed color around them to deep red tones, and Zuko's glazed stare looked past her to the sky. She turned, looking up. The comet sailed right over their heads, the red light casting glows and shadows around them. And it was actually beautiful to watch.

But as he tensed, her attention turned back to him and put his free hand on her cheek. His hand was shakier, and colder than it ever had been. But still she kissed it as he arched his back--and fully cried out--up to the sky. This time, he screamed as the pain drowned him. And every breath he took now let out a groan. His face was tied in a tight wince. He clutched onto her embrace so tightly that all she could do was hold on, but she wanted to do more.

She held onto his hand intertwined with hers, but bending forward, leaned over him, let go of his hand, and held his face in both hands, their foreheads touching, and both closed their eyes. He shook beneath her, but she held him close until another wave passed, and he was breathing hard once more, but now her breathing matched his.

"I will never leave you," she whispered, pressing her forehead gently farther into his. "My heart and my love are always yours, no matter what happens."

"Exactly--ugh--the same…from me…" his body heaved, and his breath once more became shallow, her breath stronger on his face.

"I…love…you…K--Katara…"

She opened her eyes, lifting her forehead off his, and she stared as his now fully-closed eyes.

She gently grabbed him by the shoulders, and slipping her arms underneath his back, she lifted his body off the ground, his head lolling back, but she settled him in her grasp with one arm.

It took all the strength he had left and her other guiding hand to lift his head up, supporting him so that he could stare into her eyes.

"I love you Zuko…" she whispered, and with his last strength, he pulled her closer; she did the same. Their lips softly made contact.

With all his soul, he showed her he loved her through the kiss. Their lips broke and met like waves breaking over the rocks and shore. They were both filled with the heat of passion that slowly caught within them from a spark that then fueled the fire. All that had been contained within their two hearts for the other was unleashed-- their love. Through that kiss came their passion, their heat, their peace, and al notions of them being opposites in everything was lost as the two said their final goodbye--and expressed how they both felt for the other.

Their love shown to each other explained how they truly felt, how they loved, and relief washed over both souls, able to release their secrets of their hearts to the other in a passion-filled, loving kiss. And even though Zuko couldn't physically, he held Katara in his arms, his heart near and connected to hers through love.

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But its last beat came too quickly for both of them.

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Gradually, Katara felt his grip on her arm loosen, and within their kiss, his lips stopped caressing hers. She felt him release his last soft breath from his body, and his head slowly fell back a few inches from hers. Her eyes already closed, she shut them as tightly as her broken heart allowed, tears falling once more, her mouth still open from the kiss.

But she opened her tear-filled eyes slowly, staring at him. His mouth still open from their kiss as well, she studied his limp form that she now held. His lifeless face and closed eyes looked at peace, free from the pain that murdered him, but still she felt her sorrow overcome her.

"No…no…no…no…no…" she whispered, crying over his body as her head dropped to his chest and she cradled him in her arms, rocking him back and forth in a tight embrace, holding the back of his head toward her and nestled in the crook of her neck.

Her love was lost, gone; he lay dead in her arms. With the little control she still possessed, she let her sorrow out bit by bit in the tears that streamed from her bloodshot eyes down her cheeks, onto his body.

After pouring out her tears, she looked once more to his closed eyes as she softly caressed his face and ran her fingers through his hair delicately, never pulling her gaze from him. His features were soft and serene now, as if he were only asleep.

As she stared at him, she recalled every moment they'd made contact since they had met. He had chased them all over the world, always angry and alone, always wanting his honor back, always wanting to capture them. All the hatred that she had felt toward him left when he joined them, at last finding his place, finding the honor he already had, finding a family who cared for him. She hadn't trusted him until he found her mother's murderer, and had stood by her side and let her do what she had to to mend her broken heart. And as she stared at him again, she knew she loved him with all her heart, because of who he became, who he was now.

She embraced his body in a grip with all her heart and soul close to her body, and she began to cry again, her tears spilling onto him as she poured out her soul, but she was also happy that he was in peace again, and that she had told him all she kept from him before he died. And for him to do the same, her heart wanted to burst from sadness and joy at the same time.

She slowly lowered his body down to the ground once more, and his head dropped to one side, the side showing his scar. She traced it softly and watched as a single tear from his bad eye rolled out, and down over his nose. But she just smoothed his hair, taking in his closed eyes, his still lips, as her tears fell, but suddenly she couldn't take it.

Throwing her head down to his chest, she buried her face into his shirt as she moaned and cried out all of her grief into him, her own pain, her sorrow, her own agony of losing him forever. She wailed into his shirt, letting her love for him as well as his passing show through her shaking body into his still one.

For only a moment, she looked up towards his face. Slowly she leaned up and brought his head face up, lying to neither side. She kissed his forehead and scar softly, running her lips down his face, where she then kissed his cold lips once more. She closed her eyes.

And holding his head in both hands again, touching his forehead to hers and still kissing his lips softly, she cried once more, if only just silently.

_I love you Zuko. Be at peace._

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Alright, are you guys cryin'? Please say if you are! so basically, yeah, I know people have written this sorta stuff before, but I had an idea which wouldn't leave me alone, and that's when I know it's a good one. So I hope you liked it!

I'm gonna probably be doing an epilogue, where the gaang finds them, Iroh finds out, Katara finds Ursa who finds out... I won't tell anymore. But I loved how this came out, and I hope you did too! Thanks for all your support guys!!!! **PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!**


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